There were two museums on our list when we visited Amsterdam: The Anne Frank House and the Dutch Resistance Museum. There are many other museums dedicated to the Dutch masters, and while not exactly an ‘exciting’ way to start a post, these stops were important and a part of our trip. Here you go.
A good amount of people around the world are knowledgeable about the story of Anne Frank through the publication of her dairy. When that house was set to be demolished a group got together, saved the site and ultimately set up the Anne Frank House Museum.
Briefly, here is the story:
~During WWII when the Jewish people were being persecuted, Anne Frank’s father moved his family to Amsterdam, opening a business selling spices and pectin in a rented space.
~The building was partially a warehouse with offices above in the rear extension of the building. Concealed from view by houses on all four sides of a quadrangle, an ideal hiding spot had been created, accessible by steps behind a bookcase, which remains intact to this day.
~The family went into hiding when Anne’s older sister was called up for ‘labor camp’ in Germany. This space (approx 450 sq ft) ultimately hid 8 people for 2 years and 1 month. The official owners of the building did not know there were people living in this space.
~When the space was discovered by the police, all eight were arrested and subsequently moved to various camps. Only Anne’s father, Otto, survived.
There were no photos allowed in the museum, and it was a self-guided tour with hand-held audio devices. Tickets needed to be purchased on-line prior to arrival as they are frequently sold out.
WWW.annefrank.org
Their website is excellent, having tons of information about all those involved, their backgrounds and lives before this awful situation came to pass. I went back to that site multiple times for reading material during our trip. In 2017 it was third most visited museum in the Netherlands. While we were waiting in line for our allotted entry time, I heard multiple languages from other visitors. A short block away was this lighted bronze statue of Anne Frank.
I hope any visitor to Amsterdam, makes it a point to visit this museum during their stay.
Another sobering museum visit was………………………
We came across a Resistance Museum in France years ago and discovered many fascinating and heroic tales of many European citizens during that awful time. Before leaving home I discovered another one existed in the Netherlands and it was added to my list for our visit.
Once again, there were audio guides for the self-led tour – very helpful and much appreciated.
The below information was on their website.
No photos were allowed but this quote was at the very end.
With an opportunity to add your statement or thoughts to this board – which I did.
Obviously, these were two very sobering stops while in Amsterdam. We scheduled a food tour which was excellent. It was an evening tour and rain was expected. We were prepared. And yep we definitely had rain. Luckily the hotel had some umbrellas available.
First stop was a organic cheese farmer. Above the cheese shop was a short video before we tasted any cheese. The farmer’s goal was to have happy cows so they produced stress-free milk.
The cows decided when and where to eat, when or if to come into the barns at night and when they wanted to be milked. They had some fantastic varieties of cheese.
The cheese was mighty tasty. Hopefully we will have room at the end of the trip to add cheese to our purchases. 🙂
More cheese was next……………..but this was melted! Grilled cheese sandwich. Y.U.M!!!! We may have to make a repeat visit on our own when we return to Amsterdam at the end of this trip.
Two cheeses were melted together with hearty local bread and a fabulous dipping sauce of dijonnaise. Who knew that melted cheese needed a dipping sauce? I love sauces! This is going to be replicated at home – right, hon?
Our guide made a slight detour and showed us the last remaining wooden house in Amsterdam. It is in an enclave for single women, quiet and protected. The sounds of the busy city were kept out. So peaceful in the heart of the city.
No lie, this next food stop was going to be ‘iffy’ for me. Of course, I felt right at home eating on top of a trash can – much better than the ones at work. Yep, everyone had their umbrellas open due to the weather.
We had two different types of seafood: marinated herring and kibbling (fried fish). I tried both. Thank god for pickles and onions with the herring. I got both down but Eric had extra to eat – just saying. Our entertaining guide is on the left.
Did I mention there were 6 food stops? This next one was a specialty in the region – stroopwafels. Our bakery was one of the most highly rated bakeries in the city. it was good, sweet but not overwhelmingly cloying.
The next was one of my favorites – frites. The tour guide (which is also the owner) has stopped at numerous frite locations but this was one of his favorites. The fries were excellent – especially with mayo.
One last stop for the group – dessert. The guide took us past a shop that had a looooooong line, full of tourists. It was highly advertised. We walked one more block where the locals go to Cafe Hegeraad for our Dutch apply pie. It was excellent – not too sweet, but still had a great apple flavor.
The tour was over and we had a great tour guide – one of our best. Especially after being on a tour later this week in Cologne, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Now time for the (long) walk back to our hotel. We were in the Jordaan region which was turning into one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Amsterdam and unfortunately quite a bit away from our hotel.
The beginning of the post was sobering therefore I wanted to end with some fun notes. One night I wanted something sweet and we came across Mama Pancake. We had seen this on a you-tube video before leaving home and it was perfect for that evening.
Their mantra is ‘every pancake tells a story and every bite is a symphony of taste’. Yep, they were puffy, sweet and sugary, tasty bits of goodness. I got the little ones, Eric finished the big pancake.
One our way back we saw a few ‘only in Amsterdam’ sites. Several spots had installations for night-time viewing, this was one of the few we saw late one night.
Oh, the bicycles – they are everywhere. You had to keep an eye out for the bikes, more so than vehicles. Our guide said it was a full-time job for the city to ‘fish’ bikes out of the canals – either fallen in by accident or other means – who knows’.
Our next city was Strasbourg to see the first of the Christmas markets. I had a list and we’re going to try and hit as many as we can. Let’s see what we do.
Darden Travels 